In Exodus, it tells the story of when the Creator appeared to Moses in the burning bush. In the conversation, Moses asked the voice “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” The voice replied, “I Am That I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I Am has sent me to you.” The voice even said further, “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.” I AM. Two short, yet powerful words. How many times do we say those two words throughout our day? We use them when giving our names. “I am Karen.” They can also be used to identify what we do. “I am a speaker, minister, writer, and performer.” I AM. Two powerful words that can also be used to create our reality. When used in affirmations, we use “I AM” followed by what we would like to manifest in our lives. “I AM wealthy. I AM perfect health. I AM loved. I AM successful. I AM confident.” But when followed by negative remarks, they can also manifest what we don’t want in our lives. “I AM poor. I AM sick. I AM a failure.” Using these two powerful words before any statement reinforces the energy of the words used, and when used over and over again, makes them a reality at some point in our lives to create the life we live for ourselves. Every moment, we have thousands of thoughts go through our minds. Do we use I AM to affirm the positive….or the negative? I am a total believer in positive thinking and the power of our thoughts, but even I have my moments when I have to struggle to overcome their power over me. Yet I’ve learned to be aware of those thoughts and know to change them. When a negative thought pops into my head, I immediately yell STOP in my mind; then I replace it with something positive. Is it easy to do? Not always. It takes practice. There’s a saying: “You may not be able to stop a bird from landing on your head, but you can stop it from building a nest.” Therefore, when I struggle with those negative thoughts, I know I don’t have to allow them to lay their eggs. Does this mean we totally ignore the negative? Not at all. We need to respect and honor any thoughts that come into our minds as they come for a reason. But then it’s up to us as to what we do with them. I have been accused of avoiding reality. Au contraire. I just choose to create my own reality. Everyone does. We all look at the world through our own perspectives and beliefs. This is mine. There are countless stories where people have overcome difficult life situations and/or even healed themselves just by using the power of their minds and the thoughts they think. Some call it prayer. Everyone has access to this powerful process, yet not all of us can do it. There’s a lot in our subconscious that we’re not even aware of that can over-ride many of those positive affirmations. Many of us look outside ourselves for help when we have the power within to take charge of our own lives. Remember, Jesus said that whatever he could do, we could do and so much more. There are countless books available that teach the power of our minds/thoughts and I would highly recommend reading them. “As A Man Thinketh” by James Allen is one of them (free on the Internet). He stated, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he, not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.” Someone once said, “The thought manifests as the word, the word manifests as the deed, the deed develops into habit, and the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its way with care, and let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.” (Which includes yourself.) It is your God given right to be healthy, happy, and prosperous. Everything we need is already within us. The Bible says we were made in God’s image, and Jesus made it very clear that “the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” We only need to have faith that it is so and believe in our “I AMness.” (Published in the Cookeville Herald Citizen newspaper October 11, 2013.)